I took an informal poll of foreign students at the US university I went to. Regardless of major, they all took Algebra in 6th grade. This was quite some time

I took an informal poll of foreign students at the US university I went to. Regardless of major, they all took Algebra in 6th grade. This was quite some time ago. I was interested as I was ready for Algebra in 6th grade, but was unable to take it until 8th grade. If you don't get into Algebra before high school, there is no chance of taking a reasonable calculus class before college, which puts you way behind the curve if you get into an engineering program. I went to a state university that had a strong engineering program. The students that I knew who were having difficulty and eventually dropped all had first seen calculus at the university. These were smart, talented people, but they were not given the chance to succeed.